Technology Shabbat

Last updated

Technology Shabbat or Tech Shabbat is a term coined in 2010 by Tiffany Shlain and Ken Goldberg to describe a day of rest or cessation from the use of all technology with screens: smartphones, personal computers, tablets and television. Shlain introduced the concept, modeled on the traditional Jewish Shabbat, [1] [2] [3] in a series of articles and films after participating in The National Day of Unplugging, an event sponsored by nonprofit think tank Reboot. [4]

Contents

History

The concept of a taking time to disconnect from technology emerged early in the development of the internet. Secretary of State George Shultz, for example, spent an hour each week in quiet reflection with only a [[pen] and paper. [5] Since the advent of portable devices, increasing numbers of people have adopted the practice. [6] [7]

Shlain herself first disconnected in 2008, when her father Leonard Shlain was diagnosed with brain cancer, prompting her to turn off her cell phone during his moments of lucidity. [8] [9] With her husband Ken Goldberg, she participated in the first annual National Day of Unplugging, to which she contributed a poem she subsequently turned into the film Yelp: With Apologies to Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl'. [6]

Rituals

All screens are turned off for twenty-four hours, often from Friday night until Saturday night. Suggested activities include reading, taking walks, visiting new neighborhoods, engaging in outdoor activities, and using pen and paper. [6] [4]

Filmography

The concept of Technology Shabbat has been featured in several of Shlain's films: Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death, & Technology (2011), [10] Yelp: With Apologies to Allen Ginsberg's 'Howl' (2011), Technology Shabbats (2013), [9] A Case For Dreaming (2014), [11] and Making of a Mensch (2015). [8]

See also

Related Research Articles

Allen Ginsberg 20th-century American poet and writer

Irwin Allen Ginsberg was an American poet and writer. As a student at Columbia University in the 1940s, he began friendships with William S. Burroughs and Jack Kerouac, forming the core of the Beat Generation. He vigorously opposed militarism, economic materialism, and sexual repression, and he embodied various aspects of this counterculture with his views on drugs, sex, multiculturalism, hostility to bureaucracy, and openness to Eastern religions.

Shabbat Judaisms day of rest

Shabbat or the Sabbath, also called Shabbos by Ashkenazim, is Judaism's day of rest on the seventh day of the week—i.e., Saturday. On this day, religious Jews remember the biblical stories describing the creation of the heaven and earth in six days and the redemption from slavery and The Exodus from Egypt, and look forward to a future Messianic Age. Since the Jewish religious calendar counts days from sunset to sunset, Shabbat begins in the evening of what on the civil calendar is Friday.

Convenience Ease accessibility, save resources, and decrease frustration

Convenient procedures, products and services are those intended to increase ease in accessibility, save resources and decrease frustration. A modern convenience is a labor-saving device, service or substance which make a task easier or more efficient than a traditional method. Convenience is a relative concept, and depends on context. For example, automobiles were once considered a convenience, yet today are regarded as a normal part of life.

Synaptics is a publicly owned San Jose, California-based developer of human interface (HMI) hardware and software, including touchpads for computer laptops; touch, display driver, and fingerprint biometrics technology for smartphones; and touch, video and far-field voice technology for smart home devices and automotives. Synaptics primarily sells its products to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and display manufacturers.

Shabbat elevator Elevator to satisfy the Jewish law requiring Jews to abstain from operating electrical switches on Shabbat

A Shabbat elevator is an elevator which works in a special mode, operating automatically, to satisfy the Jewish law requiring Jews to abstain from operating electrical switches on Shabbat. These are also known as Sabbath or Shabbos elevators.

Cholent Kosher stew

Cholent or hamin is a traditional Jewish stew. It is usually simmered overnight for 12 hours or more, and eaten for lunch on Shabbat. Cholent was developed over the centuries to conform with Jewish laws that prohibit cooking on the Sabbath. The pot is brought to a boil on Friday before the Sabbath begins, and kept on a blech or hotplate, or left in a slow oven or electric slow cooker, until the following day. Cholent originated in ancient Judea, possibly as far back as the Second Temple period, and over the centuries various Jewish diaspora communities created their own variations of the dish.

Yelp Directory service and online review forum

Yelp, Inc. develops, hosts, and markets the Yelp.com website and the Yelp mobile app, which publish crowd-sourced reviews about businesses. It also operates Yelp Reservations, a table reservation service. It is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

Sabbath mode, also known as Shabbos mode or Shabbat mode, is a feature in many modern home appliances, including ovens, dishwashers, and refrigerators, which is intended to allow the appliances to be used by Shabbat-observant Jews on the Shabbat and Jewish holidays. The mode usually overrides the usual, everyday operation of the electrical appliance and makes the operation of the appliance comply with the rules of Halakha.

A Shabbos goy, Shabbat goy or Shabbes goy is a non-Jew employed by Jewish people to perform for them certain types of work (melakha) that Jewish religious law (halakha) prohibits a Jew from doing on the Sabbath.

Alcatel is a French/Chinese brand of mobile handsets owned by Finnish consumer electronics company Nokia and used under license by Chinese electronics company TCL Technology. The Alcatel brand was licensed in 2005 by former French electronics and telecommunications company Alcatel-Lucent to TCL for mobile phones and devices, and the current license expires at the end of 2024. Nokia acquired the assets of Alcatel-Lucent in 2016 and thus also inherited the licensing agreements for the Alcatel brand.

Tiffany Shlain American filmmaker (born 1970)

Tiffany Shlain is an American filmmaker and author. Described by the public radio program On Being as "an internet pioneer," Shlain is the founder of the Webby Awards and the co-founder of the International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences.

In Judaism, a person who is shomer Shabbat or shomer Shabbos is a person who observes the mitzvot (commandments) associated with Judaism's Shabbat, or Sabbath, which begins at dusk on Friday and ends after sunset on Saturday.

Shabbat lamp

A Shabbat lamp is a special lamp that has movable parts to expose or block out its light so it can be turned "on" or "off" while its power physically remains on. This enables the lamp's light to be controlled by those Shabbat observant Jews who accept this use, to make a room dark or light during Shabbat without actually switching the electrical power on or off, an act prohibited by Orthodox Judaism on both Shabbat and the Jewish Holidays.

Many Jews who strictly observe Shabbat refrain from using electrical devices on Shabbat, with the exception of passive enjoyment of devices which were set up before Shabbat. Various rabbinical authorities have pronounced on what is permitted and what is not, but there are many disagreements in detailed interpretation, both between different individual authorities and between branches of Judaism.

<i>Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death & Technology</i> 2011 American film

Connected: An Autoblogography About Love, Death, & Technology is an autobiographical documentary film directed by Tiffany Shlain, dedicated to her father. The film unfolds during a year in which technology and science literally become a matter of life and death for the director. As Tiffany's father Dr. Leonard Shlain, MD battles brain cancer and she confronts a high-risk pregnancy, her very understanding of connection is challenged. Using a mix of animation, archival footage, and home movies, Shlain attempts to reveal the ties that link us not only to the people we love but also to the world at large. Connected explores how, after centuries of declaring our independence, it may be time for us to declare our interdependence instead.

Apple Maps is a web mapping service developed by Apple Inc. It is the default map system of iOS, iPadOS, macOS, and watchOS. It provides directions and estimated times of arrival for driving, walking, cycling, and public transportation navigation. Apple Maps also features Flyover mode, a feature that enables a user to explore certain densely populated urban centers and other places of interest in a 3D landscape composed of models of buildings and structures.

Samsung Galaxy Note Edge

The Samsung Galaxy Note Edge is an Android phablet produced by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled during a Samsung press conference at IFA Berlin on September 3, 2014, alongside its sister, the Galaxy Note 4, it is distinguished by a display that curves across the right side of the device, which can be used as a sidebar to display application shortcuts, notifications, and other information.

Shabbos App

The Shabbos App is a proposed Android app that is claimed to enable Orthodox Jews, and Jewish Sabbath-observers, to use a smartphone on the Sabbath. The App was supposed to appear in late 2014. Some argued from the outset that this project was nothing more than an elaborate hoax, or prank, of some kind.

Samsung Galaxy Note 5 Android-based phablet by Samsung Electronics

The Samsung Galaxy Note 5 is an Android-based phablet designed, developed, produced and marketed by Samsung Electronics. Unveiled on 13 August 2015, it is the successor to the Galaxy Note 4 and part of the Samsung Galaxy Note series.

Jordan Shlain is an American physician and entrepreneur. He is a practicing primary care physician and the chairman and founder of Private Medical, a family office for health and medicine, and HealthLoop, a cloud-based clinical engagement platform.

References

  1. ↑ Ngak, Chenda (December 4, 2013). "In digital age, where do parents set boundaries?". CBS News. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  2. ↑ "A tour of an unplugged SF home". San Francisco Chronicle. January 13, 2018. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  3. ↑ Shlain, Tiffany (March 1, 2013). "Tech's Best Feature: The Off Switch". Harvard Business Review. Retrieved May 17, 2018.
  4. 1 2 Considine, Austin (March 17, 2010). "And on the Sabbath, the iPhones Shall Rest". NY Times 2. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  5. ↑ Leonhardt, David (April 18, 2017). "You're Too Busy. You Need a 'Shultz Hour.'". The New York Times. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  6. 1 2 3 Levy, Shawn (May 4, 2012). "A Tech Sabbath offers a chance to unplug, recharge". Oregonian. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  7. ↑ Glaser, Mark (June 8, 2012). "Poll: How Often Do You Take a Break from Technology?". MediaShift. Retrieved February 9, 2018.
  8. 1 2 Friedman, Gabe (August 24, 2015). "The 'digital diva' is on a quest for the makings of a mensch". The Times of Israel. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
  9. 1 2 Cohen, Anne (October 15, 2013). "Tiffany Shlain on the Web, Women and Unplugging for Shabbat". Forward. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  10. ↑ Israel, Ira (May 4, 2012). "In crazybusy era of always being in touch, are we losing touch". Jewish News of Northern California. Retrieved February 7, 2018.
  11. ↑ Barba, Ronald (October 23, 2014). "Season 2 of Emmy-Nominated 'The Future Starts Here' Premieres Today". Tech.co. Retrieved February 8, 2018.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.